Wheaton College-based company links charities, donors

A start-up company called Project World Impact is using Wheaton College space and employing students to launch a web site that will help non-profits get exposure, donations and volunteers.

A start-up company called Project World Impact is using Wheaton College space and employing students to launch a web site that will help non-profits get exposure, donations and volunteers. (Quan Truong, Chicago Tribune)

A start-up company run mainly by students and graduates has moved onto the Wheaton College campus, setting up shop in a cluster of classrooms left empty for the summer.

There, the students hover over their computers. An air-conditioning unit hums. Hand-drawn, cut-out letters, "PWI," hang overhead. The company, Project World Impact, is getting ready to roll out an online hub where nonprofit organizations can set up profiles to generate donations, get exposure and find volunteers.

"As older donors are dying off, you have to engage a socially conscious, younger demographic," said Chris Lesner, the 21-year-old Winfield resident who founded the company.

The company employs mainly Wheaton College students. Of its 24 employees, 18 are either current students or recent graduates. Many get class, business and internship credit. There also is the possibility of a full-time job after they graduate, Lesner said.

"We're very excited about this because it's very in line with our vision to provide quality liberal arts education," said LaTonya Taylor, the director of media relations for Wheaton College. "It really exemplifies students getting real world experience that is applicable to their careers."

Wheaton College is leasing the classroom space to the company for the summer for $1. That was a relief to Bill Lesner, the company founder's father, who said the students were getting ready to operate out of his Winfield home.

Bill Lesner, who volunteers often for the college and was on the Wheaton College Leadership Council, helped make the connection for his son's company. The college likely was convinced by the benefit to students, he said.

"It's the opportunity of a lifetime for these kids," Bill Lesner said. "They get the chance to see something at the beginning that could potentially have an impact on millions of people and on the world."

Chris Lesner got the idea for the company after working and speaking with nonprofit agencies.

"No matter how big or how small the nonprofits were, you heard that they needed funding, volunteers and exposure. I was trying to think of a way to meet all those needs," he said.

The profiles on the website will include information about the nonprofit, a donate button to make it easy for donors to give, and a list of volunteer opportunities, particularly for positions that require special skills.

The site also will be a hub where people who are interested in nonprofit work can easily search for a topic of interest and receive a list of organizations that match, along with some information about the issue, said Anna Morris, an employee who will start her junior year at Wheaton College in the fall.

The search results will be more specific than a typical search engine, and the education component helps differentiate it by pooling all the information someone may want in one area, she noted.

"In an increasingly socially conscious world, it's really important for us to have a place to go," Morris said.

Nonprofit organizations can currently create their profiles free of charge, but that may change in the future to sustain the business, with pricing dependent on the number of participants.

As of July 25, about 2,500 nonprofits from around the country have signed on, said Grant Hensel, the vice-president of the company who will start his senior year in the fall.

"This offers the opportunity for me to combine business, making a difference in the world and technology, which are sort of my three favorite things to deal with," he said. "It gives us a platform to try lots of stuff and innovate and try to make something from scratch. … There's a momentum that builds, and it's just exciting to watch it unfold."

The website is in its final stages of development and will go live in August.

The company will stay on campus through the summer. Lesner and Hensel are currently scouting out downtown Wheaton for a new location close to campus.